Hooky
by Tabbyluna
Summary: When you grow up, you may end up drifting away from your friends. But surely they'll still be up for a little fun even after you'd all grown up?


The five of them gravitated towards each other in elementary school, being five little tomboys taking on the world together. But then they all grew up. Things changed. Their individual interests started to take over their lives. Then Roller Brawl started taking part in national roller derbies. And Splat spent all her time after school in the school's art studio, always working on a new project. Nightfall started to hang around the other punks and emo kids, and marine biology consumed any free time she had left. And Stealth Elf spent all her time with the student council, practicing martial arts, getting good grades, being practically perfect.

She, Stormblade, chose to spend her days preparing for a driver's license and chasing good grades. It had always been difficult for her to make friends. But she had a dream to work with planes someday, and to do that you needed to have good grades in physics. So in the beginning, she didn't mind. In fact, she still remained optimistic. Though her friend group had started to drift apart, her sunny, positive attitude refused to go anywhere. Surely things would end up looking better, right? This was just a passing phase. Soon, they'll find the time to hang out again and they'll continue being the best of friends no matter what.

Except that was not what happened. Freshman year became sophomore year, and sophomore became junior. Her friends all found new friends to spend time with, while Stormblade was left alone most days to study and work on engines. She shared some classes with Stealth Elf - the two of them being the smartest of their little group - but they no longer sat next to each other like they did in elementary school. She no longer had anyone to eat lunch with, or hang out after school with. She was alone, immediately going home after school to do homework and read up on the history of airplanes. Soon, her fear of missing out caught up with her. She needed some friends, and since everyone in school had already settled into their little cliques, she needed to get back the only friends she ever knew.

It was easy to choose a place for the girls to hang out in. The beach had something for everyone. Roller Brawl could train, Nightfall could study rock pools, Splat could bring her sketchbook out, and Stealth Elf was simply a naturally outdoorsy person. Stormblade would just be happy spending time with some friends, so the location didn't matter to her. And after pulling a few strings, she was able to convince them all to join her on this trip.

All but one.

"Again, Stormblade, you know I can't just skip council like that. I made it a commitment. If I don't have a valid excuse for missing a meeting, that would be considered truancy." She shoved a small stack of books under her apple green arm, and sauntered out of their last class of the day.

Both girls were fast walkers, so it wasn't too difficult for Stormblade to keep up with her. She tugged on her book bag, and continued to try and convince her. "Oh, come on Elf! The gang never hangs out together anymore! It will be fun, trust me."

"Can't this happen over the weekend or something? I'll be free then," she said, checking the calendar on her phone. They both instinctively made a right turn towards their lockers. As luck would have it, they were placed opposite to each other. Sadly, this was the closest anyone in their group has ever gotten to frequent interaction with each other. At least, ever since high school began.

"Roller Brawl's got more training this Saturday, and Splat's gonna go to this youth art festival thing on Sunday. Nightfall's grandparents are visiting too, so she's not available. Today's the only day we have to do this." She adjusted her book bag again. It was usually heavy, being filled with snacks, notebooks, and textbooks. But now there was the additional weight of a new signed copy of a book for Nightfall. At least Roller Brawl and Splat asked for her to do their homework for them, that was far easier to do compared to getting the book.

"Well, then I'm sorry. You're going to have to do this without me." With a quick twist of her wrist, she entered her locker combination and swung open the door. Tucked away neatly in the corner, Stormblade recognised a small photograph. Circa fourth grade, it was Splat's birthday party. There were too many leftovers that day, because her parents were fond of preparing too much food. So they had a food fight with all the excess salad and pizza and cake they made for the party.. The photo was taken a few seconds before the fiasco, and she could still see her hand sneakily reaching for a slice of cake to throw at Nightfall.

Fun times. Back when she still had her friends.

The photograph triggered something in her. Nostalgia hit her like a swift kick to the gut, and she couldn't help but sink to the floor. Perhaps it was the weight of the bag. (Seriously Nightfall, why was it so thick?) Yet, a part of her suspected it was because of something else. She pushed her back against the rows of red lockers, and realised that deep inside, she was tired. Tired of living out her days friendless and alone. Tired of being left out of social circles because of her reputation of 'cheerful geek'. Tired of experiencing all that, because she knew life could be better. She could have friends, a social life, actual fun adventures again. But she didn't. She could only look down at the black-and-white tiled floor, and sighed.

This was so childish of her. If this was a movie, she knew she should do something dramatic. Like cry, or confess to her friend how lonely she had been. But she couldn't bring herself to do either of those things. It would just make her feel silly, or at least sillier, and she knew she was stronger than that. Yet, she couldn't find the strength to sit up. She supposed she could still go on without Stealth. But the idea of a group outing without her, well, a part of her felt like it just would not be the same. She missed her as much as she missed the other girls. And to go on and do something fun without her, it just felt like a violation of something dear. Some sort of code of loyalty she had secretly sworn in her youth. A code she refused to betray now. She pushed her foot against the tile, allowing it to slide over the polished floor.

From above, the fluorescent lights flickered. A sign of the school's constant budget cuts. But after the lights narrowly escape being blown, she felt someone sit beside her and place a hand on her back. "You know, you really haven't changed much at all, Storm." She looked up, and gave Stealth Elf a small grin.

"Is that a good thing?" She asked, finally finding it within her to stand up. Stealth joined her, springing up with the grace of a veteran ninja.

"Depends on the context. But…" She trailed off, rubbing her neck. "I suppose I could ask Spyro to cover for me. After all, I've done it for him a few dozen or so times already. Maybe it's time he returned the favour."

Bouncing back from her sudden display of melodrama, Stormblade's mouth immediately widened into a large smile. She wrapped her arms around Stealth Elf, pulling her into a hug she didn't expect. Stealth Elf, unsure of how to react, merely petted her friend's back. Long-suffering as ever.

"You know Elf, I really missed you," said Stormblade, as she finally pulled herself together and pushed her book bag up. She noticed that the seams were tearing, and made a mental note to fix that.

Stealth Elf quietly smiled back at her, and placed her hands inside the pockets of her skort. With Stormblade's arm wrapped around her, she observed how her friend walked. That familiar bouncy way of moving about. She had not seen that in a long, long time. "So did I, Storm. So did I."


End file.
